Covers current status
Tim's counts are: ANC - xxx ; WBC xxxx; Platelets - xxxxx.
Tim sleeps in his own bed for the first time in two months and does well. I get him up at 7am to start the antibiotics. I will be late to work or actually another leave day. Tim has to go to see his doctor here in Dayton this morning.
All the staff at Dayton Children's Hospital is glad to see Tim again. They make comments on how good he looks.
I am getting into the swing of running the IV pumps. I do the three antibiotics starting at 7am. When I am finished with the last of the three the 10 hour fluids bag is done. The next time is 3pm with the three antibiotics and the GCSF every other day. The last time starts at 10.30pm with the 10 hour fluids starting and then the three antibiotics. It actually goes quite fast. I am going through a lot of supplies as I have to flush the central line between every medication.
Tim has a great day. He eats and goes on the computer. He even starts to read the various computer magazines that have arrived since his trip to Cincinnati.
This is the half way point through the critical 100 days. Tim has a good day and is starting to eat and drink more.
Tim has another fair day. He is dressed and watching TV, working on his computer and eating more. If he keeps this up he will be able to get off the over night fluids. I have develop a procedure for running the IV antibiotics and fluids that works well. Once you develop this schedule, everything gets done with the minimum of effort.
Tim didn't sleep all that well last night. Hopefully he will be able to rest during the morning. I place the last of the morphine patches on his arm this morning so hopefully in three days that will be one less thing to worry about. He will be going to see the doctor in Dayton this afternoon to check his weight and get a blood draw.
Tim's counts are: ANC - 4130; WBC 5900; Platelets - 51000.
Tim comes off the last of the morphine patches this morning. We drive to Cincinnati in heavy rain for a checkup. He gets a scan to check the status of the infection. It is smaller but still there. Tim gets a blood draw and another medication by IV which runs for an hour. During this procedure he starts to notice a discomfort in his lungs. He says he is having trouble when he takes a deep breath. The nurse checks him and says his lungs are OK.
The visit with Dr. Harris goes OK. Tim is still having trouble breathing and the small room does get stuffy. After the door is opened it improves. Tim asks Dr. Harris about the lungs and he is told that this another side effect of the morphine withdrawal. Tim is actually getting jumpy and ways to leave NOW. Dr. Harris would like to talk more but Tim wants to leave. Dr. Harris does layout the liquid intake (2 liters per day) that Tim must meet in order to get off the night fluids. Dr. Harris does say that I can change the amount given based on the amount of liquids consumed during the day. Because Tim's white blood count is high, he gets to skip the GSCF (white blood growth factor) until Saturday.
The trip home goes OK. Tim seems to do better when he is leaving the hospital. I think he worries so much about the trips and his concern that the doctors will put him back in the hospital, that he upsets himself. As soon as we get home we have to start the antibiotics. Tim is fairly calm and even eats a little. Unfortunately, he is still upset and make a dash for the sink.
After the afternoon antibiotics are complete, he goes upstairs and eats again. This time everything stays down. He has a lot of trouble walking up the stairs. It appears that the morphine might have been masking the decreased lung capacity he got from not doing much exercising while in the hospital. He is going to start walking more to try and build up his strength again.
Tim watches TV and has a fairly good evening. I start the evening IVs and Tim sleeps through most of the basketball game and Letterman. He can almost pass me the central line tips in his sleep. Unfortunately, he has to get up and go to the 2nd floor to bed. This wakes him up and he is very restless throughout the night.
Tim is tried this morning because he was so restless. He likes to receive his IV downstairs so we go to the basement rec room. I turn on the TV and this seems to calm him down although he is restless. Drug withdrawal is not fun. He does not want anything.
Tim continues to be restless. He is having more trouble breathing. He is still on three antibiotics every eight hours. I take him to the laboratory at Children'as Hospital for a CBC (complete blood count). If his WBC remains above 1000 he won't have to get GCSF. Tim is able to walk in and out, but very slowly. He seems to breath better outside and asks to go for a ride. He still takes some interest in things going around about him. He has very limited stamina. It is so low that he can't even play games on the computer. He need to either lay or sit.
Tim's stamina is getting even less. It is now so low that he doesn't like to walk up the stairs. He is still feeling accpetable as he wants to go for a ride in the afternoon. We ride to Springfield and back for a total of about 2 hours. That evening he is so weak he does not want to go upstairs to bed. I end up carrying him upstairs. Because he isn't eating much, his weight continues to drop. He feels warm so we take his temperature which is 101.1. We give him tylenol to bring his temperature down. An hour the temperature is still at 101.1. It is nearly midnight when we talk to Doctor Dole. He says that we can keep Tim home for the night and bring him in first thing in the morning.
Because Tim can not walk, we make arrangements to have a wheelchair at the front door. Both Mom and I go. Doctor Dole sees Tim and immediately orders a chest X-ray. He can not hear anything but can see that Tim is having trouble breathing. We wheel Tim downstairs to X-ray and he is immediately taken. I have to stay with Tim to help him stand. The x-rays are processes and we head back. The x-ray show some cloudyness. Tim is given the option of being admitted to Dayton or going to Cincinnati. Without skipping a beat he say Dayton. Tim is immediately admitted to the hospital and taken to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Various monitors are connected and IV are started. One of the doctors that stopped through to check on Tim says that he looked familiar. It turned out that he is an Air Force doctor. After some discussion we determine that he looked at Tim on his very first night in the hospital at Wright-Patterson, over two year before. I will be permitted to stay with Tim overnight so I take mom home and change and then head back.
When I arrive in the room I noted hives on one of Tim's arms. He is upset because he feels "funny" and I noted that the hives have spread all over his body. Tim's comment, "What are they doing to me?" I call the doctor and within 30 seconds he has two doctors and many staff members in the room working on him. While I was gone they have given Tim one unit of whole blood to increase the number of red blood cells to increase the ability to move oxygen to the cells. They had started the second unit of blood about 15 minutes before and also started TPN about 5 minutes before I arrived. Both of these fluids were immediately stopped and Tim was given 25 units of benadryl. Doctor Preztlaff, the attending ICU doctor worked quickly and Tim is stablized. The hives disappear within two hours and Tim is able to rest although he does complain about the monitor conncetions. This make it difficult to move about the room.
Because they want to determine what is in his lungs, the "lung" doctor stops by and we talk about doing a boroscope of his lungs. I agree and after talking with the anesthesia, he is taken down the hall. Because the nurse in the ICU has no other patients, she goes along with Tim. He returns to the room about midnight. Because he is stressed out, he is given something to help him sleep.
I leave early the next morning for home and work. Mom heads down in the early morning. As related by my wife, the doctors can't decided what caused the hives, half say the blood and half say the TPN. Tim had been schedule for a CAT scan, they plan to do it there. However, she is really upset over the procedures that were used during the attempt to get Tim's CAT scan. First off, they want Tim to drink a large amount of a heavy barium contrast instead of the lighter liquid that Tim was able to down in Cincinnati. The lighter contrast had been coordinated to be given at home but this had not been passed to the ICU. When Tim couldn't get the heavy barium down, the bungled attempt to use a feeding tube caused a major stress attack and a noticeable down turn in Tim's attitude. My wife was not very happy (and I am toning this down) with the bedside manner of one of the staff. This person indicated that the doctor's ordered the tube and it had to be done. My wife related that Tim's attitude, which had been positive and improving, started down hill from this point.
I found it very difficult to calm Tim down that night. He was very stressed out and didn't care about anything. He used words around the staff that he never used in Cincinnati. He can't understand why all this is happening to him. He could not find any way to position himself that would make him comfortable. He did say that the bed in Cincinnati was better.
NOTE I have received several comments on the above two paragraphs. The hardest thing for a parent to hear from a child is that he doesn't care about anything. While I commented about it here, at least two times while Tim was in the hospital in Cincinnati he expressed the same feelings. It is important for the care giver to provide the loving support required during these periods with lots of hugs and love. They come during periods of great stress and normally the child does not remember them as their condition improves. I can't say at what age a child will say this, but it is hard for a parent to hear. Tim is a young adult and knows what is going on around him and knows about the quality of life. All hospitals provide support staff if the parents and/or patient need support. Pam at Cincinnati would stop by frequently and just listen.
He indicated that he was hungry and I did get him to drink some Sprite and eat a little apple pie. Because of the massive hives attack Monday night, TPN has not been started. Tim is not getting very few calories and this is going to cause even more problems as he consumes energy fighting the infections.
He was given something to help him sleep and he was able to sleep from about 11.30pm to 1.30am. He was given another injection about 30 minutes later which permitted him to sleep again.
Tim is upset over the number of probes and IV lines he is connected to. It is nearly impossible for him to get up and go to the "bathroom" without help. I have to disconnect the probe leads and help him with the IV lines. I know these are required but this is a major source of stress. I have found that the O2 rate must be increased when he gets up. He did do the breathing exercises three times during the evening.
Again, I'm up early and go home. While I'm at home eating breakfast and getting ready for work, Tim calls and asks for my wife to come as soon as possible. Tim actually eats and drinks for mom. The doctors come and visit him helping him to improve his attitude. Barb, the nurse from WPAFB who now works at Children's, comes by and talks with Tim. These discussion all help and Tim has develops a better attitude.
After I get there in the evening, Tim is moved out of ICU to the HEMOC area in the hospital. He immediately complains about the hard bed and I place a blanket under him to make it softer. We recogize some of the nurse from before. Tim is hungry and drinks nearly a whole can of pop and eats half of small bag of potato chips. He isn't connected to monitors and that makes him happy. We watch Letterman and he was a fairly good night. I do have to help him move around the room as the IV lines are short. The O2 line is long. I do have to turn up the O2 to about 5 liters before he gets out of bed and maintain this level until he gets back in back bed.
I am tried and sleep through my alarm so I leave late (8am). I go home and eat breakfast and get ready for work. Mom heads down to Tim. I have to run around and chase down some test results that were performed at the base. I drop these off with mom.
Mom says that Tim has a good day. The CT contrast has been resolved. Tim is sitting up in bed and watching golf most of the day. He has eaten several times during the day. When I get there at 6pm, he is still watching golf. Later that evening he eats most of a piece of pie and has some milk. We watch various TV programs during the evening through Letterman, shades of Cincinnati. Tim discovers that my bed (yes I have a real bed) is softer than his. He relates this to the nurse who rounds up a foam pad which is placed under his sheet and this makes a big improvement.
The CT contrast, all 18 ounces, shows up at 8pm. Tim quickly downed the first few ounces. The rest takes time. It is hard to drink a lot if you haven't been eating or drinking for a while. I end up sitting with Tim until 3.30am working through a total of 12 ounces. There was a major storm going through Dayton in the early morning so we sit looking out the window at the lightning show. Lightning hitting TV towers appears to be thicker than other lightning.
I am up at 6.30am to help Tim to the bathroom. Unplugging the IV pumps and moving lines so he can move. At least in Cincinnati he had long lines from the IV pumps so we didn't have to move the IV pump pole everytime. Tim goes back to sleep and I go home to clean up and go to work. Tim calls at 9.50am and says that the CT techs want him to drink the rest of the contrast, 8 more ounces. It seems strange that the CT at Cincinnati could be done with 12 ounces while Dayton needs 18. Of course, the more you can down the better the scan is.
I have to run home and meet with the company that is providing the oxygen equipment at home for Tim. He is to be in O2 until his lungs improve.
Tim drinks more of the contrast and completes the CT in the morning. He works with the spirograph to help clear his lungs. He hits 750cc if he works hard. Mom relates that she isn't too happy with the lung doctor that did the procedure on Tim on Monday night. He says that Tim isn't doing too good and may need more work at another hospital. He also says that there is no tumors in Tim's lungs. This upset my wife as this never crossed her mind. The doctor told me the same thing on Monday night and this made me mad but I let it pass. Overall, we are not too happy with the bed side manner of this doctor.
Tim has Kathy as his nurse for the night. She was one on Tim's favorites at Dayton Childrens. There was some fighting between nurse later that night as Dawn, who had worked with Tim the previous nights wanted him. It was like Cincinnati where all the nurse wanted to work with Tim.
We get to sleep in. Tim is not disturbed during the night as all he had was one short medication during the night. The next morning he eats a little as it looks as though we would be getting out. Tim appears to be doing better with his breathing. He is not as winded when he moves about. We get our release from Doctor Broxson around noon. I have everything packed up and Tim gets hooked to the portable oxygen bottle and rides down in a wheel chair.
When we get home, Tim walks in the house and says he is hungry and wants a pizza. We order a small pizza which I get. Tim eats 3/4 and drinks some pop and other liquids. I have to run to the base to get the medications that were prescribed and a sleeping bag.
For dinner Tim eats a whole 6" sub along with more pop. Later that evening he finishes the pizza and has a few chips and pop. Tim has eaten more on this day than he was in a few months. He even walks from the lower level to the kitchen to eat. The oxygen unit in the lower level with the 50 foot line permits him this much mobility. Tim and I sleep downstairs so he doesn't have to climb the steps to his bedroom.
Tim shows a great improvement in his lung capacity. He hits 1250cc on the spirograph frequently. By the end of the day he is up to 1800cc. His lung capacity is rapidly improving. He walks upstairs to the kitchen to eat without the oxygen and without laboring too much. Later in the day he even walks up to his room to read without being on oxygen. He continues to eat more. This is a great Father's Day present! He even makes me a Faather's Day card on the computer.
He watches golf on TV and goes on his computer. He reads the newspaper for the first time in long time as he is looking at ads for new computer games.
Tim takes off the oxygen during the night as it is uncomfortable. Maybe one more night downstairs and then back to his bed. Tim is now 2/3 of the way through the critical 100 days after transplant.
Tim had another great day. He is off oxygen for the entire day without any problems. He even drives mom around for the first time in two months. Last night to sleep downstairs as there is no problems with breathing.
Tim is up early as he has several appointments to make at Dayton Children's Hospital. The results from the tests were all good. Tim's lungs were above 80 percent healed. Tim is able to stay off oxygen all day without problem. He is up and down the stairs at home without problems. He is now looking for things to do. He is loading C++, a programming language and will start to write short programs. He will be taking this course in high school this year so he is working to get a leg up.
Tim sleeps in his bed for the first time in a week.
Tim has several appointments to make at Dayton Children's Medicial Center this morning. The results from the tests were all good. Tim's left lung shows no involvement and the right lung has a minor involvement. He continues to function without oxygen. He does still work with the spirograph. He is now hitting 2000-2200 cc. This a marked improvement when he couldn't hit 750 cc last week.
He is looking for things to do. He has been working with the C++ programming language and has written a couple of short programs. He plays computer games and is checking his email daily. He is getting bored and wants to get out. He doesn't want to wear the mask in public so this is out. Dr Dole said that he must wear the mask until 100 days. This helps prevent infections.
Tim and I travel to Cincinnati for a checkup. We arrive at noon and immediately he starts with a blood test. From the blood test we go to the pulmonary clinic for a pulmonary function test. Tim's lung capacity has improved but it is still below normal. The Dr checks him and and explains the various parts of the pulmonary functions tests. Although several parts are below normal, he is not over concerned. He does count back on the steroid use over the next two weeks. He want to see Tim is two weeks and reaccomplish the pulmonary function test.
We then go back to the HEMOC clinic for our appointment with Dr Harris. Everything goes OK. We do talk about the radiation which will be starting in the near future. Because of the lung problems that Tim is having, they are delaying starting the radiation for a few more weeks. Tim will be receiving a dose of 4500 rads over a 2-3 week period. He will be receiving two doses per day.
Tim is really up and Dr Harris says that we can stop and eat. Christine gives us direction to a Mexican resturant. Because it is mid afternoon, there are not many people there and we are seated away from the people that are there. This is the first time in several months that Tim has eaten out.
I have off today and Tim wants to go someplace. We finally decided on Findley OH and start off late morning. It is a nice ride up US 68 from Springsfield to Findley and then we return via I75.
We stop in Tipp City for lunch. Again it is mid afternoon and there are not many people in the resturant. Again, we are seated away from other diners.
Tim has an appointment at Dayton's Children's Hospital for follow up blood draws and a chest x-ray.
Continues to do better every day. His 100 days post transplant are up at the end of the month and then he will feel free. We will be going to a family picnic in Cleveland during that weekend.
He is getting back into the swing of things by making the dinner salads and making suggestions to improve the evening meal. He would be a great cook if mom would let him run free in the kitchen. He does watch several of the cooking shows on TV for ideas.
He is getting excited about sports again. He is watching many baseball games on TV. He also watchs golf matchs on TV. He is back into computer baseball and other sports games. He is trying to figure out how to upgrade his computer system.
Tim and I go to Cincinnati for a follow-up visit. He completes a pulmonary function test (PFT). The results indicate that Tim has remained about the same over the last two weeks. Dr Amin asks Tim to try an inhaler with medication and then retake part of the PFT. The next PFT shows very little improvement. Dr Amin is not too concerned with the results. He does cut the amount of pretaizone (a steroid) that Tim is taking for the lung problem.
Next we go to the hemoc clinic for a blood draw. I guess the vampire is in as they take a lot of blood. I would guess about 20 small vials.
We then head down to X-ray where Tim get another chest x-ray.
I run upstairs to see who is working in the transplant unit. Tim doesn't want to go up as he says he doesn't like any of the people up there. Jenny and Lori are working and are disppointed that Tim will not come up.
Back to Dayton where Tim and I have a lunch date with an old friend of mine. Mel has been sending Tim email cards and wanted to meet him. Mel and I have known one another since I came to Dayton and worked in AFLC while on active duty in 1981.
Tim is excited about building a new computer. He has ordered bits and pieces and will build a new high speed computer for home. I guess I should do the same as I am still using a 486/100 at home. Tim has order a new case, motherboard, CPU and memory. He will move the hard drive, CDROM and video cards from his old computer, which is only a Pentium 133.
Received the results of yesterdays tests in Cincinnati. Tim's White blood count is 8000, platelets 31000, ANC 5920. The platelets are OK but near the low end. They are the last thing to come back. The extra blood was drawn are part of the 100 day test (Tim's 100 days post transplant will be July 24. The chest x-ray was "essentially clear." Tim will also need to go through a complete set of scans around the 100 day period so these will be coming up.
Tim's Uncle and Aunt in Cleveland get fo tickets to see the Indians play in Jacob's Field. The stadium is very nice. Now Tim doesn't want to go and see the Red's in Cincinnati. He has a great time and really got into the game.
Tim gets to day 100 post transplant. While this seems to be a major day in the transplant processes, it is just another day. We attend a family picnic in Cleveland where Tim continues to show how much one person can eat. He has a great time around his aunts and uncles. He really doesn't want to talk about everything he has gone through. It is behind him and he is now looking ahead.
Tim has an appointment with Dr Harris in Dayton. Everything appears to moving along the right path. Tim also had several tests while he was in the clinic and Dayton's Children's Hospital.
The pulmonary functions tests was about the same. His lung capacity is about the same as is the oxygen transfer function in the lungs. The chemo scars the lung transfer tissues which inhibit the transfer of oxygen to the blood.
The chemo also attacked the ears and the hearing functions. Tim has lost some of his high frequency hearing, but then I have also lost my high frequency hearing from being around aircraft engines.
It is nice not to have to write anything. Tim continued to do great. Last Monday he went through another CAT SCAN. Unlike the ones he had in Cincinnati, he was able to down the contrast fluid without a problem. Since he had it done at the base, mom took him to the procedure. Actually, I haven't had to visit the doctors since he got back.
His beard was long enough that he shaved on Saturday. His hair is back - almost.
He has been driving and going out with friends. He starts his senior year in two weeks. He has been working with the computer he built/upgraded. He has been watching and the upgrade appears to be working great. He is now looking into a video card. He listed all of the new cards for his birthday wish list. The way things work, all of these new cards are not available.
I finally dumped the antibiotics from the end of June beginning of July. Now I can turn off the little refrigerator.
We are still waiting to hear when he will start radiation. It appears that this will be done at Wright-Patterson AFB as they have a new doctor. This procedure will be done twice a day for two to three weeks. He will get one early in the morning before school and the second after school.
Today is Tim's 18th birthday. In mid afternoon we receive a call from Dr. Dole at Children's Hospital in Dayton telling us to meet with him the next day regarding to results of scans that Tim had received 10 days before. Because of problems getting Tim's scans back from Cincinnati, the results had been held up at Wright-Patterson MedCenter for a week. Receiving this type call is not very good. This immediately caused the entire tone of the day to go down the dumps. Not knowing but expecting the worst, the joyful day turn bad. Tim refused to have anything to do with his birthday, no cake, no singing, no cards. It was a very bad day!! Tim was so upset that he wanted to leave -- to go someplace -- anyplace by himself.
Because Tim did not want to go to see Dr. Dole or indicate a desire to strike out, I took the morning off to go with Tim. I have gotten to the point where I will not wait for doctors. If you are 15 minutes late for doctors appointment, the doctors will tell you that you must reschedule. Well if it works for doctors, it works for patients. I will not wait more than 15 minutes beyond a scheduled appointment. Dr. Dole arrived 14 minutes and 55 seconds after the schedule appointment time as Tim and I were getting ready to leave.
Dr. Dole said that the gallium scan showed some "hot" spots in Tim's chest and abdomen. The bone scan and CT were normal. Dr. Dole said that this is very unusual but that the gallium scan could show a relapse 4-6 months before it showed up anyplace else. Tim was very quiet and didn't ask any questions and I did most of the talking. I did indicate my displeasure with the way we were notified and that he had destroyed Tim's birthday.
After this meeting we went to meet with Dr. Herrington at Wright-Patterson Med Center. She is the new radiator mycologist. She explained the procedures to be followed. The goal was get a biopsy and then that would determine the amount of radiation. As she laid it out, if the test was found to be false, Tim would receive 2000-2500 rads in a maintenance mode. If the biopsy proved positive, Tim would receive 4000-4500 rads. The doctors had not decided where to do the biopsy. Depending where they wanted to get the sample would determine where the surgery would be done.
The family was still upset but things were starting to settle down. Tim did have cake and opening his cards that night.
Tim is feeling better and goes out with us to eat. He uses his birthday money to buy a new sound card for his computer which will give 3-D effects and places you "inside" the game. Tim is still trying to decide on a new video card.
Nothing is decided. Tim is starting to move on treating the news as another bump in the road.
It is decided that the biopsy will be done in the chest and will be done at Wright-Patterson. The doctor talks with my wife and expresses concern over the procedure because of Tim's overall condition.
I stop in and talk with Dr. Herrington at the base. The WPAFB tumor board met the night before and discussed Tim. The consense was to hold off doing anything. Because Tim is still having lung problems, a surgerical procedure would be very risky. The plan is to closely monitor the condition for any change. Tim will get another CT about a month after the last one to see if anything has changed. He will then redo the gallium scan a month after that to see if there is any change. The thought appears to be that the nodes lit up as a result of the infections that Tim has been fighting, both in the abdomen and in the lungs. Dr. Herrington also noted that if the tumors are back, another transplant may be required. This time the marrow will come from another person as Tim's system may be defective.
Because of these new problems, Tim elects to delay starting school. Discussion with the school indicate that Tim can take the courses he needs at Sinclair CC in Dayton via the internet and get both high school and college credits. This make Tim happy as he was not really looking forward to going back to high school as his class had graduated.
Tim has bounced back!! He is excited about going to Computfest next weekend. He has decided he wants to go to a football game at the University of Illinois so he is going to try and get tickets for mid September.
tim has a meeting with Dr. Harris from Cincinnati and Dr. Dole from Children's Hospital in Dayton. Because of my work load, I am unable to go to this appointment and the doctors miss me. Dr. Broxson, head of the clinic at Dayton also stops by so Tim is seen by everybody.
They still are not sure what Tim has. The doctors have been discussing this and there are several different opinions. They still plan on waiting and rerunning the tests. These should be completed over the next two weeks and hopefully they will come back negative.
Tim is getting setup to take a couple of courses at Sinclair CC in Dayton. These course will provide both college and high school level credits.
Tim was happy as the football tickets for the University of Illinois arrive yesterday. He like to go to one football and one basketball game per year.
Tim had a great time at the UofI football game over the weekend. It was a night game so the temperatures were not a problem. Because it is impossible to find room in the U/C area we had rooms in Decader, 50 miles west. The best part was that IofI broke their 18 game losing streak.
Just a quick update. The results of the second set of tests showed no growth in the areas of concern. In fact, there may have been a slight reduction. As of now the results are still not conclusive. Hopefully, we will be able to hold off for a another month and rerun the tests.
Tim is starting to work on his assignments from Sinclair CC. This is how he is completing his senior year in high school and will also pickup college credits.
Tim has been resisting the biopsy to determine the source of the gallium uptake in his chest. Tim felt that this was caused by the nearby infections. Working with Dr. Raybon, his doctor at WPAFB, he was able to schedule another gallium scan for last week. He got the results yesterday and we had good news for a change. The scans showed a marked reduction in the uptake such that the nuclear medicine doctor thought he had been under going treatment for Hodgkins. This means that he will not have to under go the high radiation dose. The start date for the radiation will be determined later this week, although wants to put it off until January so he can have a nice holiday season.
We have received some good information recently. Tim's doctor last week told him that it doesn't look like he will NOT be receiving radiation treatments. The thought is that it has been eight months since the transplant and nothing has shown up. The gallium uptake I reported earlier was found to be a normal reaction to an infection. Tim's last gallium scan showed a marked reduction in uptake. He also had a CT scan performed this week and that showed nothing new.
Tim has completed his first semester of work at Sinclair CC and did very well. He is planning on taking three courses next semester so he will have some of the basic requirements completed when he starts at the University of Illinois next year.
He just received his grades and he got "A" on both courses.
Last Updated - 25 Jan 99